: Flashbacks as chapters ordered (almost) chronologically I just finished the first draft of my novel. From my previous question: Sushi Break A story about a girl who travels 3 hours

I just finished the first draft of my novel. From my previous question:

Sushi Break

A story about a girl who travels 3 hours every weekend to see her
boyfriend (the boyfriend is doing an internship and doesn't have time
visit her). Things are OK for a moment, but after some days the
boyfriend starts cancelling the meetings at the last minute (usually
with some lame excuse). However, the girl keeps traveling to the city
to eat in a sushi place she fell in love with. In this place, she
meets all kind of strange but friendly characters who help her reflect
on her relationship.

The following is an outline a made to remember what the chapters are about (the flashbacks are those with a summary):

OPENING

TELL ABOUT INTERNSHIP (Boyfriend tells protagonist about the internship)

FIRST EXCUSE (The first time the boyfriend stands up the protagonist)

MEET AI-LING

SPY WITH AI-LING

MEET DE-SHI (How the protagonist met her boyfriend)

AI-LING GONE

MEET A-KEN

AT ROXY 99

FRIENDS COME

TOILET CALL

KUO ALONE

FIRST KISS (Protagonist and boyfriend first kiss)

AT KUOâ€™S HOUSE

MEET AI-LING AGAIN

TAMSUI NIGHT MARKET

AI-LING DATE SHOWS UP

LANTERN FESTIVAL

LANTERN FESTIVAL FLASHBACK (Protagonist and boyfriend first holiday)

STUDENT PROTEST 2014

MISCARRIAGE 1 (Flashback about the protagonist's miscarriage)

MISCARRIAGE 2 (Flashback about the protagonist's miscarriage continued)

BUS STOPS

DECLINE RELATIONSHIP (The first time the protagonist notices a decline in the relationship)

BUS ACCIDENT 1

BUS ACCIDENT 2

WITH A-KEN AT THE HOSPITAL

ENDING

As you can see the flashbacks are ordered chronologically (but not all of them) and are composed of whole chapters (sometimes two). Most have smooth transitions (e.g. X reminded me of the time...[next chapter]). But some just show up randomly in the next chapter (I did this to break the pattern and add variety).

I wonder if this will confuse or annoy the reader? (the way flashbacks are sorted and the fact that they occupy whole chapters)

Load Full (0)

: Is it OK to have two different POVs in a same paragraph (third-person omniscient narrator)? This is my first time writing a third-person omniscient narrator. And just got stucked in a dilemma.

@Candy753

Load Full 2 Comments

: Do the following scenes feel like flashbacks? I wrote a short story. One recurring critique is that the flashbacks don't feel like flashbacks, so the readers get confused. The story is about

@Candy753

Load Full 2 Comments

: Do you set yourself daily goals and stop once you've reached them? I don't follow any kind of time or word limit. I write when I have time and stop when the time is over (e.g. time to

@Candy753

Load Full 1 Comments

: Should I change POVs in the following case? I'm writing a story where later on (three or four chapters after) a second main character is introduced. And after that the chapters will alternate

: Flashbacks as chapters ordered (almost) chronologically I just finished the first draft of my novel. From my previous question: Sushi Break A story about a girl who travels 3 hours

More posts by @Candy753

: Is it OK to have two different POVs in a same paragraph (third-person omniscient narrator)? This is my first time writing a third-person omniscient narrator. And just got stucked in a dilemma.

: Do the following scenes feel like flashbacks? I wrote a short story. One recurring critique is that the flashbacks don't feel like flashbacks, so the readers get confused. The story is about

: Do you set yourself daily goals and stop once you've reached them? I don't follow any kind of time or word limit. I write when I have time and stop when the time is over (e.g. time to

: Should I change POVs in the following case? I'm writing a story where later on (three or four chapters after) a second main character is introduced. And after that the chapters will alternate

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top